Beauty and the Wildebeest
"Beauty and the Wildebeest" is the second segment from the twelfth episode of The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa. Synopsis Herman, an ugly wildebeest, is approaching the waterhole to get a drink of water, but his ugliness chases away the animals gathered around the pool, leaving him alone with his beautiful gazelle crush, Lara, and her friends. Once the two realize that they are in the presence of the ugly beast, Lara's friends laugh and mock him about his appearance, only stopping when Lara tells them to leave him alone. She then asks Herman if he will attend her birthday party, and, ignoring her friends' protests, he accepts the invitation. Later that day, Herman runs into Rafiki's tree, causing the baboon's bowl of food to topple onto his head. Concerned about the wildebeest's well-being, Rafiki scrambles down the tree and asks Herman what's wrong. The wildebeest admits his problems to Rafiki and asks the baboon for help in impressing Lara at her birthday party. After examining Herman's condition, Rafiki agrees to do so. He starts by teaching Herman about posture and instructs the wildebeest to walk across a line of crocodiles and then return to him without falling. In a failed attempt, Herman crosses clumsily across the crocodiles and then rams into Rafiki on the way back, knocking them both into a tree. On his second attempt to make Herman handsome, Rafiki offers the wildebeest a special drink, which will make his voice sound less ugly. Though initially hesitant to try the drink, Herman takes a sip and finds that the potion works, but makes his voice change every few seconds. A simple hit on the head with Rafiki's stick makes the sounds stop changing, and Herman is left with a stunning new voice. For the third time, Rafiki works his magic on Herman, fixing his teeth and horns, bathing him, and then giving him a makeover. At last, Herman is handsome, and Rafiki tilts a mirror to show the wildebeest his new appearance. Meanwhile, the savanna celebrates Lara's birthday with a giant cake. As the festivities commence, a muscular gazelle named Mel pops out of the cake and attempts to serenade Lara with song, but she is disgusted at his boasts and rejects his kiss, only to turn and find that Herman is at her party and handsomer than ever. Outraged at being outdone by a wildebeest, Mel challenges Herman to a fight in which they run at each other full force and collide horns. Determined to win Lara's heart, Herman agrees. As the two charge at each other, Herman suddenly realizes that he must be true to himself and dunks his head underwater, changing himself back into an ugly beast. Mel stops short at Herman's transformation and runs away, screaming. Despite his victory, Herman is sad that he is ugly again and begins to troop away with Rafiki until he is stopped by Lara, who admires him for his bravery. She then dunks her head underwater, revealing herself to be ugly as well, and the two kiss. Trivia *The episode title is most likely a play on Disney's iconic movie Beauty and the Beast. Category:Television episodes Category:Timon & Pumbaa episodes Category:Rafiki Fables